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"Master, wait!"
Anakin was shaking, eyes widened with horror at the scene before him. His Master had the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic cornered, Windu's purple lightsaber pointed at his throat. There so many conflicting emotions rushing through his head and the strange air of the Force in the room didn't help either. His Master immediately snapped up to look at him, his own gaze shifting from anger to exasperation.
"Anakin, what are you doing here?"
"Anakin, the Jedi are trying to kill me!" Palpatine cried out helplessly from the floor, watching him with manufactured distress. "They're committing treason!"
"Master, we have to take him in alive. We can't kill him!"
Anakin's voice felt raw and fractured — a thing that didn't go unnoticed by Windu. His expression softened as he glanced over at his former padawan, shaking his head ruefully.
"He's too dangerous to be left alive. This is the man whose been controlling both sides of the war right under our noses this whole time."
"I— He.." His words were failing him when he needed them the most. Anakin felt like he was eleven years old again, trying to explain to Master Windu why he woke up screaming and crying in the middle of the night. "But.. he's been kind to me… he said he could save… my friend."
"What?" Windu seemed genuinely confused before glaring back at Palpatine with rage taking over his features. "What lies have you filled his head with?!"
Palpatine fake cried again but Anakin wasn't focusing on him anymore. He moved to his Master's side, looking at him pleadingly. He needed to think, find a way out of this without his Master or Palpatine being harmed.
"Master, you always tell me to be practical, right? If we kill him here, the entire Republic will call us traitors." Anakin was desperately trying to reason with him, hoping to appeal to Windu's sensibilities.
He needed Palpatine to help him, he needed to know how to save Padme's life. But he also didn't want his Master to end up in a cell.
Anakin was so tired of losing the people he loved.
Windu paused for a moment as he considered his suggestion seriously. He knew that his Master was hesitant; why wouldn't he be? Cowering before them on the floor was the man who cost millions of people to lose their livelihoods. Even Anakin had an inner voice telling him that something wasn't right but he ignored it.
"You make a good point, padawan mine." Windu sighed after a few beats of silence, lowering his lightsaber. "We'll present his crimes for all to see and have him punished accordingly."
He nearly let out a sigh of relief. Good, he thought as he moved over to put the Chancellor in Force-nullifying cuffs. The best possible outcom—
Palpatine was fast. Too fast. He'd thrown Anakin away with a Force push, causing him to crash against the decorations and shelf.
He knew it was coming but didn't react fast enough. He felt the air being knocked out of his lungs, back painfully thudding against heavy decor and datapads, a shout from Windu and his own voice weakly wheezing as he tried to get up.
"ANAKIN!"
His Master had turned around for a second. It was just a second but that was more than enough for Palpatine. His eyes widened as he saw him take out his own lightsaber, desperately mustering up his voice.
"MASTER, NO, DON'T—!"
Too late. He was too late by a fraction of a second. A red lightsaber cut through his Master from the back, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.
"..move…" No…
The smell of burnt flesh and the thump of his Master's body hitting the floor overwhelmed him. The Force felt so static, all sounds fading in and out like a broken communicator.
No… No…No…
"Master…" Anakin got up, immediately going to Windu. With shaking hands, he pulled his body into his arms, desperately mumbling pleas and whispers as tears slowly started streaming down his face.
"No, no, no… please, please, Master, not you, not you…"
Palpatine stood in-front of him the whole time, a evil smirk slowly taking over his features. The life from Windu's eyes was slowly fading as Anakin's cries became more anguished until he heard his Master's frail voice reaching out to him.
"Ana…Anakin…"
"Don't say anything, you're gonna be fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine…"
"I'm proud of you…" Windu managed to whisper. He seemed like he had more to say but he immediately went slack in Anakin's arms, his Force signature turning into an empty void.
"Master… come back, come back… no.."
He tried to look for his Master in the Force but there was nothing. Windu's lightsaber deactivated and clattered uselessly out of its owners hand. It felt so cold and dreary, memories of his mothers death resurfacing. Anakin held her in his arms too as she took her final breaths and the same happened with his Master.
It was happening again.
Just like last time, he couldn't do anything to save her. Now, he couldn't do anything to save him.
Anakin broke; he started crying, tears dampening the bloodstained robes with the red blossoming out of his Master's chest like a flower opening its petals.
"His death was a necessary one," Palpatine finally spoke up, his twisted smile meeting Anakin's tearful gaze. "Besides, he would have perished sooner or later. I simply did him a favor by putting him out of his misery."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Anakin roared, staring up at the Chancellor with red-rimmed eyes, fury etched onto his expression. Objects around the office clattered while the lights above them broke in a fuse; he was angry but so sorrowful. He still holding onto the body, scared to let it go. "He was going to let you live! Why did you have to kill him?!"
"All the Jedi will fall, one way or another. I am merely speeding up the process."
Anakin's face was aghast with horror as Palpatine let out a low chuckle. "This was always going to happen, one way or another. You can turn against me if you want but you won't be able to save your wife without me. Do consider that as you stew in your hatred."
"Do you seriously think I'm going to join you after you killed my master in-front of me? Are you fucking deranged?!"
Cracks in the windows begin to form as Palpatine watched him with amusement. The Chancellor didn't answer him immediately; instead, he pulled out his communicator, the image of Commander Fox coming to life in the holo.
"Commander," He spoke with an authoritative tone, a twisted undertone resounding beneath it. "Execute Order 66. Alert all the clones to this."
Anakin had a bad feeling about this — a very bad feeling. He held onto his Master's body tighter when all of a sudden, a sharp pain pricked through in his head. All his senses seem to go numb with the cries of betrayal calling out to him — Jedi, so many Jedi were dying simultaneously and Anakin felt like he was being stabbed with each light snuffed out.
It hurt in a way physical injuries did not. Like parts of him were dying in an indescribable manner. Like when his Master died but by ten fold. With a painful groan, he loosened his grip on Windu's body, burying his head in the palm of his flesh hand, more tears streaming down his face.
No…No…stop…
Palpatine, on the other hand, was absolutely delighted. He drank in the suffering of the Jedi, of Anakin before smiling at him leeringly.
"To answer your question from before…" Palpatine fixed his robes as if he didn't kill multiple Jedi and order a genocide. "I'm simply telling you to consider your options before you make your next move Anakin."
Anakin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The worst part? He was contemplating Palpatine's offer; he had to save Padme from that terrible fate. Everything around him was crumbling, the Force weeping for the departed while the Dark side was reveling in the massacre, beckoning Anakin to join the bloodshed.
It was so tempting — tempting to listen to Palpatine and give in. To have all that power at his fingertips, to manipulate the very means of life and death and yet…
….
"Anakin, it's okay. I will not be angry with you."
"I dunno.. I'm worried that you'll want to stop training me and send me back to…"
"Anakin, we would never send you back to slavery. If you do not wish to be a Jedi, that is an entirely different story."
"No! I do, but I'm…"
"Scared."
"Scared?"
"Master Jinn said he'd train me and then you guys said I was too old but then when Obi-Wan was gonna take me, you did instead and I'm scared that youregonnaregretit."
"…"
"…I will admit, I was not exactly welcoming to you at first but I couldn't let Kenobi shoulder a padawan just yet. Not only is he grieving, he is far too young and needs more experience before he teaches anyone else. I had a feeling he'd be stubborn on the fact you be trained so I took you as a means to honor Qui-Gon Jinn's final wish and ease Kenobi's mind."
"It may started have out unconventionally but Anakin, I will be honest with you; I do care about you. I think you can be a great Jedi and I don't regret it."
"I only hope you can believe me."
"…Okay."
Why was he thinking about that conversation from then? Why now? Chuckling warily, he covered his face with the prosthetic arm as more tears flowed down his cheek. Windu really did care for him and Palpatine only pretended.
"Don't look back, Ani."
Mom…
What would his mother say if she saw him like this? Would she be ashamed of him? Scared of what he was becoming? No.
She'd tell him he had no chains anymore.
And Padme? Would Padme forgive him for this? The last few days had been tense between them but he couldn't stop loving her even if he tried. Yet, she'd be so disappointed in Anakin if he joined the Sith — the thought of upsetting her even further cut him deep as though a serrated knife were pushing through the flesh and sinew of his heart.
"No."
Palpatine turned around to observe Anakin who had set Windu's body down, picking up the fallen Jedi's lightsaber in his left hand while taking his own in the right hand. Around them, the cracks got bigger in the windows, their webs getting larger as more rage stirred within him, Palpatine practically ecstatic at this display of hostility.
"You wanted me a monster? Fine." Anakin activated both lightsabers, walking past his Master's body while beginning to circle the Chancellor. "But you won't get to order me around and I don't need you for jack shit; I'll save my wife, myself. No, you're going to feel me cut through every single bone in your body so you can feel the pain of every single person whose died for your schemes."
"Such vicious words!" Palpatine laughed, igniting his own saber. "Where does a desert rat like you learn such colorful language and vivid imagery? Oh, no matter. You'll die before you can make good on that promise."
Desert rat.
If his anger wasn't already intense, it just went through the stratosphere. Glass shattered around them as red hot temper colored his vision as Anakin lunged forward with both sabers for a direct hit. He was immediately blocked by Palpatine, their eyes meeting in the sizzling heat of the blades clashing against each other. Anakin's gaze seared into him, teeth grit as he pushed even further, trying to overpower his opponent.
Palpatine, realizing he was being shoved to the ground, used a Force push to move Anakin away, jumping back into stance. The Force push didn't impact him as strongly as it did before, feeling like a slight nudge; he dug his heels into the floor, glaring at Palpatine.
"Don't tell me you're going easy on me now," Anakin dragged the purple lightsaber across the ground, sparks fizzling against the metal in its wake as he walked towards him while twirling his own lightsaber in the other hand. There was a venom to his voice with each word he spoke. "Or do you only know how to fight dirty?"
"Hah!" Palpatine laughed wickedly, quickly parrying Anakin's attack from the flank, the two of them falling into a brutal sequence of hits and blocks. "You are no better than me, boy! Or do you forget about the rage you felt when your mother died and killed an entire encampment?!"
Anakin's eyes flashed yellow, an animalistic scream tearing from his throat.
The darkness embraced him, giving him a rush of power he'd never felt before. Applying that strength, he broke their dance with an aggressive strike, forcing Palpatine to stagger.
But he didn't stop, no, he wouldn't stop. He brought the blades to strike a killing blow, only to be blocked by the red saber again. Behind the light, he could see the glee in the Sith's Lord face.
Fury took him over and he used the Force to enhance his muscle, kicking Palpatine square in the chest, a move that caught him off-guard. It knocked him back severely, his back meeting shards of glass on the floor as blood stains began to form on the Chancellor robes. Weakly, he coughed out some blood, summoning Force Lighting to stop Anakin's attack from above.
"Look at you," Palpatine sneered, their duel stuck in another deadlock. "You've taken to the Dark Side so well. I expected as much from the Chosen One."
"Shut your damn mouth! You're gonna die for what you did to my Master!"
Years Ago…
Master Windu always told Anakin that nighttime was an important time; it was the time of the planetary rotation when their physical forms would rest but for ten year old Anakin, nighttime was the perfect time to sneak out and explore the lower levels of Courscant.
Looking for new parts, hearing about the latest regarding the races and finding new food was stuff he'd never be able to do with his Master or any other Jedi. Not that he'd bothered to ask, due to fear. A lot of the people of Courscant didn't seem to question why a kid was roaming around the droid black market so for that he was grateful. Sometimes he ended up getting too carried away by asking questions or making someone else angry but Anakin was fast on his feet.
The only problem was he lost track of time… a lot. It would be close to dawn when he realized how late it'd be thanks to the sky changing colors from velvet blue to soft yellow, the Courscant nightlife dying down around him. Anakin always had to end up running back to the Temple and pretend to be asleep before Master Windu came around to wake him up for their morning mediation.
Usually he got away with it and took a nap in the afternoon when his Master went to deal with his Council duties. It was always around the time they had classes too which he skipped — he didn't want to be around kids younger than him and deal with their vitriol anymore than he already had to. Anakin would figure it out himself, he always did.
But it caught up to him. The lack of sleep, the missing classes and his less-than-energetic demeanor eventually forced him into a confrontation with Mace Windu, who was not pleased about the number of complaints he'd received regarding Anakin's absence.
"Why have you been skipping classes?"
"I don't need those stupid classes!" Anakin bit back without much bitterness. "I'm smarter than half of those kids and I get good grades."
"But that's not what I asked you, is it?"
Anakin mentally cursed in Huttese, avoiding Windu's stern gaze. He was never smart enough to talk his way out of situations or that great with words.
"Anakin."
He hung his head, staring at the floor below. Part of him was terrified of punishment, scars from his slave days on Tatooine still fresh in his minds eye and body. Rationally, he knew the Jedi wouldn't do that but ten year old Anakin wasn't a very rational thinker. So he remained quiet, keeping his thoughts shut from his Master in fear of letting his true thoughts spill.
"I know you sneak out at night, Anakin."
Immediately all the color drained from his face, moving to stare at Windu with fear in his eyes. His Master's stern look diminished, replaced with a more neutral look.
"The only reason I did not confront you is because I hoped you'd come and tell me by yourself. Having to confront you about this… I'm a bit disappointed in you."
"No…" Anakin murmured, sounding like a drowned tooka-kitten. "I'm… I know it's not allowed to go out so late but I felt too bad asking you. You're busy with your Council duties and then you took me as your padawan so I didn't wanna add more and I…"
He paused mid-sentence, letting his words trail off. Mace Windu didn't interrupt or say anything, patiently waiting for the ten year old to finish his sentence.
"…I'm afraid of punishment."
He admitted it. Anakin hated how weak he sounded but lying about it wouldn't get him any favors. The best he could do was brace himself for what was coming, once again, opting to hide his face from his Master.
Windu stayed silent for a while, face stuck between contemplation and confusion until he finally spoke.
"…I see."
"Are you worried that I'll hurt you, padawan? Is that it?"
"…yes."
He shouldn't be. Anakin shouldn't be scared but he was. He knew Obi-Wan that said the Jedi wouldn't do anything like that but he was still unfamiliar with everything.
"Is there anything else?"
Anakin kept avoiding his gaze, staring at the floor with his nails digging into the cloth.
"Anakin, it's okay. I will not be angry with you."
Windu's tone became uncharacteristically soft, indicating to him that it was okay. He dragged his chair closer to Anakin's until they were face-to-face, Anakin cautiously considering before he finally spoke.
"I dunno.. I'm worried that you'll want to stop training me and send me back to…"
"Anakin, we would never send you back to slavery." His Master immediately interjected, brow furrowing. "If you do not wish to be a Jedi, that is an entirely different story."
"No! I do, but I'm…"
"Scared."
Why was he such a fucking coward?! Anakin hunched his shoulders while anxiously bouncing his leg.
"Scared?" Windu repeated with confusion.
"Master Jinn said he'd train me and then you guys said I was too old but then when Obi-Wan was gonna take me, you did instead and I'm scared that youregonnaregretit."
Suddenly, the room became awkward. Anakin could feel it in the Force — how Master Windu's discomfort arose in his emotions. He wished he kept his mouth shut.
"…I will admit, I was not exactly welcoming to you at first but I couldn't let Kenobi shoulder a padawan just yet. Not only is he grieving, he is far too young and needs more experience before he teaches anyone else. I had a feeling he'd be stubborn on the fact you be trained so I took you as a means to honor Qui-Gon Jinn's final wish and ease Kenobi's mind."
Anakin knew it. He knew he was burden to everyone and a problem at the Temple.
"It may started have out unconventionally but Anakin, I will be honest with you; I do care about you. I think you can be a great Jedi and I don't regret it."
I don't regret it.
He let those words skin in, releasing the death grip on the cushion. Did he really mean it? Or was it just to comfort him?
"I only hope you can believe me."
He wasn't lying; Anakin could always tell when someone was lying but he couldn't bring himself to fully believe the Jedi Knight but maybe he didn't have to be so scared anymore. He managed to finally speak in a small voice, nodding at his Master.
"…Okay."
"Good. Now, we'll have to discuss an appropriate way to reprimand you for all the missing classes and breaking out but for now, perhaps we should do some training and testing. After all, you said you can manage without the lessons, correct?"
Something akin to a smile formed on Anakin's face, his frame relaxing as he nodded again. Maybe Master Windu wasn't as scary as he initially thought.
Anakin had never learned Vaapad. It's not like he hadn't tried; of course, he had. Windu, however, said he would one day but he didn't think the day would come.
Standing in Palpatine's office, the dark side flow through him like a conduit. Blood and sweat dripped from his forehead — the Sith Lord had managed to get some hits in but every-time he struck back harder, any form of Djem So he might've been using getting lost the more he fought. He wasn't used to using two lightsabers but it didn't matter, nothing did. All that he wanted to see was Palpatine's head severed from his body and watch the crimson paint his walls.
Palpatine shot a round of Force Lighting at him which he absorbed with the purple blade, struggling slightly to maintain his foothold. Dooku was an amateur compared to Palpatine but he wouldn't lose, he refused to lose this fight.
Their fight finally broke out of the office and into the corridors of the Senate building. If either of them were getting tired, they didn't show it. Anakin dodged a strike from behind without looking, holding his blue lightsaber at the back while twirling Windu's to counterstrike. Palpatine moved when he turned around but he wasn't quick enough; Anakin cut through his skin, leaving a bleeding burn mark across the Chancellor's chest.
Palpatine hissed at the pain, stumbling backwards in confusion. Anakin took the opening to grab him by the throat using the Force, throwing him onto the wall with an incredible impact with only two fingers raised from the lightsabers hilt. Yellow eyes glowered at the sight of the Sith Lord, relishing in his misery tightening his grip around the airways.
"I wonder what would be more satisfying. Beating you to a bloody pulp or slicing your head clean off. Perhaps I should snap your neck but I want to make this as slow and painful as I possibly can, Chancellor."
He couldn't make out any of the desperate words of Palpatine's wheezing, opting to choke him slowly. Choosing to watch the life slip and fade from his eyes just like he'd watched his Master, his mother and all the good men he'd lost in the war. The Force was crying and chuckling at the same as Anakin kept on pressing, the fire within him roaring for more.
"It's the Jedi! Get him!"
Anakin had to let go of Palpatine to deflect the laser blast. The Sith Lord's body fell to the ground pathetically as the clones surrounded Anakin from all sides.
Without a second warning, they started shooting at him. Anakin used both the blades to deflect their shots, weaving between swiftly them before killing every single clone without a seconds thought. Some he attacked from behind and cleanly cut their heads off and others were hit by the deflected shots. He killed the two remaining guards by snapping their necks with the Force, mercilessly dropping their bodies upon the rest.
Behind him, he sensed more clones approaching and Palpatine recovering from the near-death experience. He wouldn't be able to kill the Sith with so many clones around — no, he needed to go. He needed to find Padme and save her from this bloodshed. Save her from death through gritty stings and crushing bone, no matter what.
For a moment, he paused to look back at the bodies he'd so casually killed. Dark red stained the carpets, the smell of burnt flesh and blood squirting from disembodied heads made for a gruesome sight yet he felt nothing. His own hand was scarred and singed from the duel, some ribs probably broken and muscles most likely hurt with the open wound on his head still bleeding red down his face but he didn't care.
Anakin only glared at Darth Sidious, searing hatred visible before he finally disappeared from the Senate building, making a mental promise to himself.
I'll kill him even if it ends up killing me too.
Padme barely lived.
Anakin had to force himself to concentrate all his life energy to her, refusing any treatment for his own injuries until she was stable. Once he felt her Force signature stabilize, he collapsed.
Of course he did; the medical droids in Polis Massa tended to him the second they got the chance, taking Anakin to a room next to Padme's before reporting to Bail and the two Jedi.
"Skywalker has sustained multiple injuries; broken ribs, cuts, overextended muscles and burnt skin around his hand;we'll need a while to treat him."
"Do what you must," Bail spoke as the droid nodded, leaving the three of them in disarray. Yoda's ears dropped in exhaustion, his ashen gray complexion mirroring Obi-Wan's weary one.
"Fallen, Skywalker has."
"Yes," Obi-Wan sighed, feeling his legs give out as he sat on the benches nearby. "I saw the bloodbath he left upon leaving the Senate building. It was…"
There were no words for it. The argument for self-defense could've been made since all the clones turned on them but Anakin was brutal. He didn't need to kill so many and yet when Obi-Wan saw the bodies laying around, cut in half with organs spilling out, sinew scattered everywhere and necks twisted, he knew that the innocent boy he met on Tatooine was gone. The scent of cauterized bone and blood was still with him, stuck to his robes like a reminder.
"What do we do with him Master? Do we kill him?"
"Know, I do not," Yoda admitted, walking toward the windows. "Dark day, this is. Many questions, answers few."
He was right — there was too much to process all at once. Their Order was gone, the Emperor was the Sith they'd been searching for all along and all the men Obi-Wan had fought countless battles with had turned their blasters on him in an instant, the shock and betrayal shattering everything he knew.
Everything had been such a blur. One minute, he looking for Anakin and followed him to a docking station on Courscant where he'd been fully prepared to fight him but his friend didn't even bother igniting his lightsabers — lightsabers? — turning to look at Obi-Wan with a spent look, heavily breathing. Anakin was painfully clutching onto his sides, dried blood covering half of his face and matting his honey-blond hair while looking at Obi-Wan with a silent plea.
The next minute, he was on Polis Massa, taking in the fact one of his best friends had been married for over three years, was having kids and the Jedi Order had been massacred. That the war they'd been fighting was a mere farce to build up Palpatine's empire.
"Senator Amidala is awake."
One of the droids interrupted him from his thoughts, addressing him and Senator Organa.
"She's asking about Skywalker."
"I'll go."
Obi-Wan piped up before anyone else could, leaving Yoda to stare out in the stars. He entered Padme's room, offering her a nod before looking at the twins with a sorrowful smile.
"Where's Ani?" She asked without hesitation, staring at Obi-Wan. "Last I remember, he looked worse for wear. Is he here?"
"He's here, don't worry," He quickly assured her. "Anakin had multiple injuries but he wouldn't get treated until you were stable before he fainted. Due to overexertion, I can only assume."
Her expression paled but she tried not to let it show.
"He's getting treatment now? Why would he not—?"
"I'm not entirely sure but he said he needed to save you first and foremost," Obi-Wan cut her off gently but even he was worried. What exactly did Anakin do to save her?
"Do you… know what he did?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No." He had a rather bad feeling about it too.
He watched Senator Amidala take a deep breath, reaching for one of the twins — Luke, if Obi-Wan recalled correctly — and let him wrap his small hands around her large finger, smiling softly.
"He has Ani's eyes."
Luke did indeed have the same bright blue eyes as his father with a toothless smile on his face when he glanced over at Obi-Wan. The girl — Leia — on the other hand was fast asleep, unbothered by her brothers antics. Obi-Wan could already tell they'd make for a chaotic pair.
"I'll go check up on Anakin and tell him you're awake."
Padme nodded and went back to her children as Obi-Wan left the room for the next one. It had been an hour or so since Anakin's treatment started so any major issues should've been taken of by now. Hopefully his friend was awake; he had many questions for him and hopefully answers that Yoda and he were looking for.
But when he arrived at Anakin's room, it was empty. There was only a crushed droid warbling with sparks sputtering everywhere and IV cords strewn to the side. One glance at the side and he knew the robes were gone which meant the sabers Obi-Wan had taken were most likely also gone.
Well, shit. What was his hot-headed friend doing?
Obi-Wan wasted no time in hurrying towards the exit, hoping to catch Anakin before it was too late. He had to dash past Bail Organa and other droids before finally catching up to him, panting heavily as he shouted.
"Wait!"
Anakin turned around, surprised to see Obi-Wan; clearly he wasn't expecting the older man to catch up much less look for him. Obi-Wan finally caught his breath and met Anakin's expression, both of them too fatigued to fight each other.
"Anakin, don't you want to see them? Padme? Luke and Leia?"
Anakin was caught off guard again, a soft look overtaking his features as he whispered.
"Twins?"
"Yes, twins." Obi-Wan felt desperate, walking closer to Anakin cautiously. "Padme wants to see you, she wants to know if you're alright."
"'M fine. She's doing okay?"
Obi-Wan nodded before he frowned. "What exactly did you do, Anakin? I could feel her life slipping but all of a sudden it was like she had renewed vitality just before you collapsed. So, Anakin, what did you do?"
"Something stupid," He mumbled, shifting his weight over the left side while grimacing slightly. The pain from his fight with Sidious was still there then.
"I, uh, didn't know the method Palp— Sidious was talking about so I did the next best thing I could think of and fragmented my soul n gave it to Padme."
He'd heard of how some Force Users had the ability to extend their lifespan and manipulate their very essence but it veered too far into the Dark side. But soul fragmentation?! That was most definitely forbidden mainly due to the fact—
"Anakin… don't tell me you've cut your own lifespan in half…"
Suicide. There was no other word for it. It was a slow but sure way to ensure ones destruction. Obi-Wan watched Anakin with dread as he let out a weak laugh, looking the other way.
"I'd do it again. For Luke and Leia too but I can't see them."
"Why not?!" He'd usually never get this emotional but the days events had started to wear on him. "You're their father, Anakin. Don't you want to see them grow? To raise them?"
"Of course I do!" He snapped loudly, sighing a bit before continuing. "But I'm not… I can't. I'm not good enough to be their father or her husband. And I made a promise."
"A promise?"
Anakin's eyes flashed yellow again, sending a shiver down Obi-Wan's spine. His hand instinctively moved to his lightsaber even though he knew Anakin wouldn't attack him.
"To kill Sidious, no matter what. To make him suffer for killing Master Windu and everyone I lost."
"Anakin, are you seriously going on a revenge quest over your own family?!"
"My family won't be safe as long he's alive. I have to do this."
He hated to admit it but Anakin was right. Darth Sidious would never stop hunting them and let them live in peace. The worst part was he could relate to the feeling of revenge; he had seen Darth Maul kill his Master before his own eyes and Anakin had to most likely witness Windu's final words and his last breath. Just like with Master Jinn. Obi-Wan said nothing, hanging his head in silence.
"Don't tell Padme what I did. Don't tell her where I'm going."
But then what should I tell her? That you've abandoned them? He wanted to protest but found himself at a loss for words.
"I'm taking Master Windu's lightsaber."
That wasn't a question and Obi-Wan wasn't about to object either. He knew what was going through, the grief, the hate and anger; had Obi-Wan been more like Anakin, he might've succumbed to his rage too. Honestly, he still wanted to. Maybe that's why he was letting Anakin go, to have him enact revenge on his behalf. A selfish sentiment but he didn't care anymore.
"Goodbye, Obi-Wan. If I don't manage to kill him, make sure you do."
I will. I promise.
He knew Anakin didn't have to hear him say it. Obi-Wan didn't say goodbye but let him go. Behind him, Bail Organa arrived too late with some droids as Anakin shot them a remorseful look; he used the Force to activate the emergency barriers, bidding him one last look of farewell before disappearing from Obi-Wan's line of sight.
Obi-Wan Kenobi did not know what to do but he prayed and hoped for the safety of his only living friend as he helplessly watched the galaxy fall into ruin.